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Electronic Moto Farkles

Hey everyone,
Just throwing this out there to see if there are others with similar thinking. I bought a 7" Galaxy Tab 2, and I intend to mount it on my bike. I've already got an Otterbox Defender, and I intend to use the ram mount system that attaches at the handlebar bolts. Couple that with a direct wire USB plug, and I think I'll be in business!

The reason behind the madness? Moto specific GPS units are crazy expensive! In a wifi only tablet with a 32gb sd card, I get gps with maps of my state, and all the states around it, 20gb of music, apps galore and a bigger screen! With bluetooth to my helmet headset (haven't settled on one yet) and I'm in business! If I need to make an emergency call while underway, I just sync the headset with my phone. Also, link the tablet to the hotspot on my phone and then I have the internet at my fingertips. I'm optomistic about the setup, and can't wait to finish gathering parts and get it going!!

Anyone else have success with a tablet for electronic moto needs?
- Randy

A friend chose to use his smart phone as his handlebar GPS. he found that (I'm sure that someone will correct me if I am mis-informed) these devices use cell tower system rather than GPS satellites. This revealed itself when, from time to time in remote and or rough terrain areas the guidance would not work. Apparently the Satellite based GPS system is less effected by terrain & the economics of cell tower placement.

With a little care & caution the inexpensive non motorcycle GPS may be a better choice.

A friend chose to use his smart phone as his handlebar GPS. he found that (I'm sure that someone will correct me if I am mis-informed) these devices use cell tower system rather than GPS satellites. This revealed itself when, from time to time in remote and or rough terrain areas the guidance would not work. Apparently the Satellite based GPS system is less effected by terrain & the economics of cell tower placement.

With a little care & caution the inexpensive non motorcycle GPS may be a better choice.

My droid can use the cell tower or GPS. Just depends on which Nav app you choose. I don't know if there is an app that will go back and forth seamlessly. I have unlimited data on my cell so that is not an issue. I will say that you have to keep it on a charger because the app really eats the battery.
Jeff

Smartphone GPS

Originally Posted by jeffd

My droid can use the cell tower or GPS. Just depends on which Nav app you choose. I don't know if there is an app that will go back and forth seamlessly. I have unlimited data on my cell so that is not an issue. I will say that you have to keep it on a charger because the app really eats the battery.
Jeff

Some of the smartphone GPS programs do not use your data plan except for traffic or to search for an address on the browser. I like ALK's Co-Pilot software. The maps fill up the phone's memory but you can load parts of the country instead of all of the USA and Canada (yet I load it all).

It's nice and fast too. I decided to time how long it would take to bring up the POIs for motorcycle dealerships in Fairbanks, AK. They popped up too quickly for me to time. I'll time how long it takes to calculate a route from Virginia to Trails End BMW in Fairbanks. "One thousand One, One thousand two, one thou..." It's done. I'll click alternatives. I barely got out "one thousand one" before it displayed two alternate routes. I click the "drag route" button, zoom around, and drag the route onto the Icefields Parkway (oh, someday). I love that feature!

It did all that without connecting to the Internet but once navigation starts, it will connect to the Internet to get traffic updates every 5, 10, or 20 minutes.

When you search for POIs, you can use the onboard data or connect to the Internet to search with Google, Wikipedia, or Yelp.

Disadvantages? It cannot import files from your computer so I cannot use routes or POI files from the computer. Also my phone is not waterproof.

I use Windows Phone 8 but the software is also available on Android, IOS, and Windows. No affiliation with the company but I have been using Co-Pilot since Windows Mobile 5 and like it. Besides, it would be good to give Garmin and TomTom some competition.

Bruce
2005 R1200RT (It's new to me!)
Northern Virginia, USAIf you are not continuously learning, you are slowly getting bored.